by Sara McGinnis posted in Parenting

There's the life you think you're going to have, and then there's the one that unfolds in front of you, like it or not.
Vanessa Skinner, owner of Spiritual Birth Photography, never imagined she'd place a child for adoption and take on the title of birth mother, but many years later she's proud of that role and ready to share her story.
Speaking with BabyCenter, the mother of 16-year-old Rudy, 12-year-old Andy, 10-year-old Mickey, 8-year-old Sonny, 6-year-old Naomi, 4-year-old Harmony, and 11-month-old Trinity opened up about how she came to place her second child (Carl, now 14) for adoption.

Vanessa Skinner
I feel honored to have had the opportunity to speak with Vanessa about how her family unfolded, and I welcome you into our recent conversation. Can you tell me a little about the circumstances that led up to placing your second child for adoption"
"I was weeks away from turning 24 and my first born was 2. I was married at 19 and was not able to get pregnant very easy so I prayed to God almost every night for over a year for the blessing of children. One of the happiest days of my life was learning that I was to be a mother.

Welcoming Rudy.
I had my first baby (son Rudy) at age 21 via homebirth. My husband and I were building a small home in the countryside of the mountains of Utah at the time, and my world was perfect. In fact, my young marriage was the best it had ever been -- but six weeks after giving birth I received...